Chewing gum pellet coated with a hard coating containing erythritol

Abstract

A chewing gum product comprises a gum pellet covered by a hard coating containing erythritol. The coating may be a homogeneous material built up of layers from a single coating syrup containing erythritol, or it may be a coating comprising two or more layers of different compositions, wherein at least one of the layers contains erythritol. The coating prevents the gum pellet from picking up moisture. The coating is particularly useful in making sugarless gum products.

We claim: 
     
       1. A chewing gum product comprising: a) a gum pellet comprising chewable gum base, a bulk portion and one or more flavoring agents; and   b) a hard coating covering said pellet, said coating comprising erythritol.   
     
     
       2. The chewing gum product of claim 1 wherein the erythritol comprises about 1% to about 100% of the coating. 
     
     
       3. The chewing gum product of claim 1 wherein the product is non-cariogenic. 
     
     
       4. The chewing gum product of claim 1 wherein the gum pellet is free of sugars. 
     
     
       5. The chewing gum product of claim 1 wherein the coating further comprises a sugar or sugar alcohol other than erythritol and the erythritol comprises about 1% to about 20% of the coating. 
     
     
       6. The chewing gum product of claim 1 wherein the hard coating comprises a plurality of layers, one of said layers comprising erythritol and another of said layers being free of erythritol. 
     
     
       7. The chewing gum product of claim 1 wherein the coating further comprises a binder. 
     
     
       8. The chewing gum product of claim 7 wherein the binder comprises gum arabic. 
     
     
       9. The chewing gum product of claim 1 wherein the coating further comprises a whitener. 
     
     
       10. The chewing gum product of claim 1 wherein the coating further comprises a flavoring agent. 
     
     
       11. The chewing gum product of claim 1 wherein the coating comprises about 10% to about 65% of the product. 
     
     
       12. A method of making a hard coated chewing gum product comprising the steps of: a) forming a gum center comprising chewable gum base, a bulking portion and one or more flavoring agents; and   b) forming on said gum pellet a hard coating comprising erythritol.   
     
     
       13. The method of claim 12 wherein the hard coating is formed by applying a liquid coating comprising erythritol and solvent in a plurality of coats to the gum center and evaporating solvent from each coat prior to applying the next coat. 
     
     
       14. The method of claim 12 wherein the coating further comprises a flavoring agent. 
     
     
       15. The method of claim 12 wherein the coating comprises from about 1% to about 100% erythritol. 
     
     
       16. The method of claim 13 wherein the liquid coating syrup is applied to the chewing gum center by spraying. 
     
     
       17. The method of claim 13 wherein the solvent comprises water. 
     
     
       18. The method of claim 13 wherein a plurality of different liquid coatings are applied in successive steps so as to build up a plurality of layers of different coatings. 
     
     
       19. The method of claim 18 wherein a first coating liquid, free of erythritol, is used to build up a first layer and a second liquid coating comprising erythritol is applied to form a second layer over said first layer. 
     
     
       20. The method of claim 12 wherein the hard coating comprises from about 10% to about 65% of the product.